Regina Abrami

Regina Abrami
  • Director, Lauder Global Program
  • Senior Fellow and Lecturer

Contact Information

Overview

Dr. Regina M. Abrami is the Director of the Lauder Institute’s Global Program and Head of its International Studies faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. At the Lauder Institute, she is broadly responsible for interdisciplinary curricular development in support of the university’s joint-degree MBA-MA program in International Studies. Dr. Abrami brings to the Lauder Institute a passion for, and expertise in, experiential education, with focus on issues of political economy, intercultural group dynamics, strategic foresight, and qualitative field-based learning.

Dr. Abrami holds appointments in the Departments of Political Science and Management as Senior Lecturer and Senior Fellow, respectively. Prior to Wharton, Dr. Abrami served on the faculty of Harvard Business School for 11 years in various capacities. These include co-designer of its “Doing Business in China” course, inaugural faculty chair of its international immersion program, and faculty member in its “Business, Government, and International Economy” unit. HBS honors include appointment as a Hellman Faculty Fellow, awarded for distinction in research, and the Robert F. Greenhill Award, given in recognition of distinguished service.

Dr. Abrami has authored dozens of HBS case studies, and continues work on the political economy of economic governance, national innovation, and the geopolitics of national economic security, with special focus on China. Her published work has appeared in Comparative Politics, Journal of East Asian Studies, Harvard Business Review, Marketwatch (WSJ), the China Policy Institute, the Oxford Handbook of Asian Business Systems. In 2014, her book, Can China Lead? Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth (co-authored with William C. Kirby and F. Warren McFarlan) was published by Harvard Business Review Press (published in Chinese in 2017).

Dr. Abrami earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was both a Reinhard Bendix and John L. Simpson Memorial Fellow. She is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, Phi Beta Kappa, and a former Fellow of the Social Science Research Council and the Fulbright-Hays Program.

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Teaching

Current Courses

  • MGMT8990 - Independent Study

    MGMT8990004 ( Syllabus )

Past Courses

  • INSP4999 - Honors Thesis

    The senior thesis course is a capstone for seniors in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. Students in the Huntsman Program should consult with the Huntsman Program advisors for more information.

  • INTS7210 - Global Analysis

    TBD

  • MGMT2880 - Mnging & Compet in China

    The business environment in China is characterized by both uncertainty and complexity. On the one hand, it is changing fast; on the other hand, it is influenced by deep-rooted political, economic, and cultural forces that exhibit tremendous inertia. This course will help students--as potential managers, entrepreneurs, and investors--gain the knoweledge and analytical skills necessary to compete effectively in China. We will discuss various types of firms in the Chinese economy--from large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to newly minted Internet giants, from prominent multinational companies (MNCs) to virtually anonymous local suppliers--and the unique institutions in which these firms operate. Such discussions will also help managers whose firms compete or collaborate with Chinese firms on the global stage. We will use a combination of lectures, cases, debates, and role play in class. You will also have the opportunity to apply your learning to real business scenarios.

  • MGMT7880 - Mnging & Compet in China

    The business environment in China is characterized by both uncertainty and complexity. On the one hand, it is changing fast; on the other hand, it is influenced by deep-rooted political, economic, and cultural forces that exhibit tremendous inertia. This course will help students--as potential managers, entrepreneurs, and investors--gain the knoweledge and analytical skills necessary to compete effectively in China. We will discuss various types of firms in the Chinese economy--from large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to newly minted Internet giants, from prominent multinational companies (MNCs) to virtually anonymous local suppliers--and the unique institutions in which these firms operate. Such discussions will also help managers whose firms compete or collaborate with Chinese firms on the global stage. We will use a combination of lectures, cases, debates, and role play in class. You will also have the opportunity to apply your learning to real business scenarios.

Awards And Honors

  • Wharton Teaching Excellence award, 2020

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Knowledge @ Wharton - 2024/04/17
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Awards and Honors

Wharton Teaching Excellence award 2020
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